What is your reaction? Here are some questions you can ask yourself to get you thinking:
- What was it like reading something that was written in two different languages?
- Could you understand the gist of the meaning before you read the definitions?
- How do you think you would react if you were in a similar situation—doing a simple task in another culture and/or country?
- Did you have a particular insight while you were reading this that you’d like to share?
- Have you had a similar experience?
In a one to three paragraph essay, explain your reaction and thoughts. You don't have to address all the bullet points above, but use them as idea triggers.
30 comments:
When reading this article, I really did not become confused at all. I understood exactly what the article was saying. I have had a similar experience, regarding clerks making you wait. At our local speedway gas station, there is a woman employee, that always is talking on her cell phone. I have waited so many times because of her. I have called and complained to the manager, but she has not done anything about it. I also have felt like I was a nuisance to her, because I made her get off the telphone, so I could pay for my merchandise.
I think this article explained a lot about the problems we can face when cultures mix.
I myself have been in that situation while vacationing in Cancun, Mexico. I have no spanish skills whatsoever and while I was there it was terrible. There was a lot of American and Spanish directions all over which confused me. I ended up once paying a peddler $10.00 for taking a picture of his iguana. He kept saying 100 pecos, 100 pecos and so I threw him a dollar and then he chased me since I hadn't given him enough. Needless to say, if you ever go to Mexico, watch what you take pictures of.
Amazing is the power of language, and the challenge it presents.My first reaction to this was to take time simplest approach and ask for some help with interpretation.It then dawned on me that just like the writer I would be foriegn to that language.
What I thought was the easiest answer now become even more complicated then the original problem.Fuel seems like it would be a little less coplicated, but if it were something else, how would you get the help you would need?How do you get help from someone you cannot communicate with?
So you've found someone curious enough to stop and see what you need, now what.If you remember the saying about the bird that freezes in the air an falls in the manuer, the moral is,(pardom my language)"Just because someone craps on you doesn't make them your enemy, and Just because someone gets you out of that crap doesn't make them your friend either. These days you can't even be sure who's friend or foe. Take Jamie's situation for instance, not being able communicate with the natives can make you even more of an easy prey.
After reading this article, I did not feel too confused. I understood pretty well what the author was saying, as well as the context of the message she was trying to convey. Each generation is a culture in itself. How we conduct ourselves now is not the same of how others conducted themselves "way back when." More of the "everyday tasks" have taken on a far-more casual nature, and in my opinion, has given a negative impression on the current generation. Whether it regards clothes, attitudes, TOENAILS, it is true to say that our society has become less caring or maticulous about our day-to-day tasks.
I didn't become confused when I was reading this article. Even though I did not know the words, I got the general gist of what she was talking about when she made refrence to the numbers, and I knew then that she was talking about different types of unleaded gas. There is a gas station in my hometown where the clerks are always sitting around. Sometimes it takes them upwards to two minutes just to come and turn the pump on. As for paying for it, thats a whole different story. I also thought that this story was a good example of what happens when cultures mix. If you didn't understand what the french word for unleaded was, you could end up messing up your car pertty bad and it would be your own fault.
It sounds like a typical experience in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language. There were only a few French words so I didn’t have too much trouble understanding the article. I suppose it would depend on the situation, but if were in another country I can imagine I would have difficulty doing many of the things we take for granted.
I pretty much understood the article as I read it. It's easy to get annoyed while waiting for someone to finish one thing before bringing their attention to me. I've been in a situation or two where it would have been helpful to either know Spanish or American Sign Language. In today's world, it is almost better to be bilingual.
When I read this article, it confused me how this whole article was on a lady getting gas in her car. It wasn't that hard of a task, and I don't get how she was having such a hard time. Although, I agree with her on how much it sucks waiting on someone. At work it seems like I am always waiting on truck drivers, because of the bad road construction in my home town. Nothing is worse than waiting after hours on a friday, but there is nothing I can do about it.
The article was a little confusing because I don’t know any French. I understood most of the article. It reminds me of situations I’ve been in before. One situation I’ve been is when I use to help out at after school care with the fourth graders back in high school, and there was a kid who didn’t know any English. It was hard to communicate with him because my Spanish skills are not very well. I understand that he had a hard time communicating. It would be hard for me to do anything in another country that doesn’t speak English. Normal everyday tasks would be hard. I would have a hard time communicating with anyone. It’ll be nice for me to learn another language especially in the police field.
For the most part, while reading the article, I thought I knew what she was talking about. It makes it a bit complicated though when you don't know the language, so you are left with your best educated guess. In reading the article you think it seems simple enough, but what if you were in the same situation. Anyone would be a little more cautious about a decision, such as this, that they were about to make. I think that there are situations very similar to the "filing toe-nails". Not exactly the same, but in the sense that there doesn't seem to be very many people with much common courtesy these days. When working in customer service, is it really that hard to put a smile on your face, and do your job? That is, afterall, a part of your job description in that line of work.
It seems to me that I always get stuck in a situation with a language barrier when I call customer service for just about anything. Even though the person speaks English, they don't pronounce or enunciate words the same as what I am used to hearing. This makes it difficult, because I am constantly wondering if the person even has a clue as to what I'm talking about. Especially since I'm not sure what they are talking about. I think it would be rude to ask to spead with someone that spoke "better" English, so I try to deal the best I can in those situations.
This article was pretty clear about how she was in a forign country. It could also be someone who is filling gas up for the first time. The words in french, made sense with the pharagraphs. It was not hard to understand what they ment. I think it would be difficult though to go to a unfamiliar country and go out in public trying to do everyday things. I have been to Germany and ordering food is very difficult because you don't know what you will get unless you are familiar with the language and the culture of what they eat.
It was cool. It didn't confuse me or anything. I took French 1 and 2 in high school, but I didn't get to learning those words. It was actually kind of cool to read an article like that. I think I would have been a little more fun if she would have expressed herself with more French words throughout the post. I think it would also be fun to do that in my own life, just random times add a few French words into my vocab to spice things up a little.
This article flowed as though my friend was writing it. There was no comfusion at all. I believe this is because the two cultures in this article are similar in nature. We both fill up our fuel tanks, we both have more than one option to chose from as far as octane. It was easy to understand. I personally did not even read "the definitions." I guess I maybe should have. I hope I am writing this right. Either way, if I was in this culture I do not think it would be difficult to live or do daily activites. Granted I do not know much about where they are, it seems similar to our culture.
This posting was actually very easy for me to read. I thought it was going to be a lot harder to read than it was. You really didn’t need to know what the words meant in order to know what the writing was about. I personally am used to this type of situation. My Grandmother is Hispanic and lived in Guadalajara, Mexico for the first half of her life, so she never really learned a whole lot of English, just enough to get by. In the years that she’s lived in the US, her English has improved immensely, but every once in a while she’ll be in the middle of a sentence and she’ll get to a word that she knows in Spanish, but doesn’t know in English, so she just uses the Spanish word. So seeing a dialogue like this is no surprise for me and really wasn’t too challenging.
I thought this article was very close to how it was when I first went to the gas station to get gas. It was really confusing just like it was in a different language. After reading the article and before reading the definitions I basically knew what the french words were. It just surprised me that it reminded me so much of my first time ever getting gas.
I read the essay before I looked at the French words ,but went to them immediately ,when I got to the end of the reflection. I knew what sans meant ,but hadn’t quite figured out that ploms meant lead. I actually didn’t think about the French words, while I was reading ,because I was busy thinking about ,what she was saying. Did she have as many struggles at U. S. gas stations, as she had at French gas stations? Perhaps it is just our cold climate in the upper Midwest that makes one of the first things you learn “how to use the hook” so it pumps automatically. I think we all hop back into the warmth of our car in December, January , February and sometimes March.
I have had the experience of living in Boston ,and traveling to England ,and Sweden. I thought about my own experiences ,while reading. In Boston, garbage cans are called “barrels”. You have “barrel day” and “put out your barrels”. You don’t drink pop, you drink “tonic”. In England the hood of a car is called a “bonnet”, and carry out food was called “take away”.
In Sweden I noticed different things. The hotels we stayed in had “tanning beds” I suppose that’s because winters ,are dark, and long up, there in the north. Any means of getting sunshine I imagine is very welcome.
The interesting thing is that all these customs develop for perfectly good reasons and generally make good sense. I will now remember l’essence when I pull up to the pump.
I would have had a hard time communicating with him because it is hard for me in understanding the language and for the record I can not understand any language other then the English language. I have taken two years of Spanish but year to date I am unable to recall anything.
As being a police officer in a town with a few Spanish speaking people in it. Upon making contact with these individuals I am unable to understand them. This makes my job a lot harder because I am unable to communicate the reason or reasons why I am giving them a citation.
Each day brings a different challenge to the plate. Whether you are in the United States, over seas or in your home town, you will come into contact with an individual that is unable to speak English. Or you will come into a conflict in regards to a different culture that you are not aware of and question there methods on how to do a certain thing.
The article I read was a good article. The way the author combined the two languages was a great reading experience. The way she worded her article made it easy for the reader to understand the foreign words.
When reading the article, I could imagine myself being there as if were myself. She did a great job describing every step she took. I really enjoyed this article, and would like to read some more of her work.
I did not under stand the article at all
I liked the challenge of reading in two different languages because it forces me to slow down and pay closer attention to what I am reading. The meanings of the words were very clear to me. Karen did a great job at describing the situation she was in. This made it very easy to figure out what she was doing. I agree with her, I also pay close attention to what I am putting into my tank and check the total before paying.
It was ironic that she was paying such close attention to what was going on , but the clerk was filing her toenails and not at all concerned about doing a good job for her employer. I can relate to this situation and many others like it. In my opinion good customer service is becoming a thing of the past. The way we dress, our personal appearance and dedication to our jobs are some of the most important ways to communicate nonverbally.
First of all I took French in high school and it wasn’t bad reading the French words once in awhile. Also I understood what the gist was before I reed the definitions at the end of the story. If I was in another country and had to do a “simple” task I would give it a shot at first and yell for help if I were to fail. This story has to do with not just cultural differences but also with presenting yourself and what you do. Doing your toe nails while at work, I bet she also lights a match in the gas station parking lot. I have had experiences like that in just America so I can’t imagine what it would be like in another country, trying to grasp “new” concepts.
This article was funny. But like the oh so clever TSpencer said, it was like the first time I went to get gas, actually a lot of the times I get to get gas, sometimes that lever stops working for no reason, and sometimes the people behind the counter doesn't always seem like the person that should be behind the counter. But its really cool seeing that even with thousands of miles between us, that say Paris, and River Falls have a lot in common, even if you have to say...Gas stations. Neat ya? Well I feel for her, hopefully her gas situation turned out fine. but that nail stuff...gross.
I think reading the article has helped me understand more on how different cultures work and how the U.S. and different cultures can be alike. Reading the article, the French words were self-descriptive and easy to understand. Every time you go to a new gas station you have to be aware of everything and read the directions, otherwise you spend more time trying to figure it out. Every time you stand in a line it’s an experience, sometimes there are good ones and not so good.
I really didn't find it all that hard to read the article in two different languages. I didn't feel the author used French that often. But when she did use those French words it was in a context I could understand. Everyone knows gas, most of us get it once a week. So despite the fact that she used different words, it was pretty simple to know what she was talking about.
As for how I would feel doing a simple task in another culture, I have mixed feelings about it. I think that I would feel strange doing something I always do one way a different way. But I also know that if it were explained to me, I don't feel I would struggle that much.
I was able to understand the reading. This is because even though she used some terms that I was unfimilure with, I could still understand the context she used so I could "fill in the blanks"
First off, it was not written in two different languages. It just had some French words put in. That hardy makes it written in two different languages, so I really couldn’t tell you what it was like. Yes I could understand the gist of the meaning because it was talking about gas. Four years of driving helps in understanding but for people that don’t drive or kids that can’t drive, they may not grasp it. I think I would do just fine in a similar situation because I have been out of the country twice now. Nothing like this has happened to me, but I have been faced with not understanding people when in another country.
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